


May The Best Zebra Win

by alakay



Category: Madagascar (Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Fun, M/M, Romantic Friendship, and ofc some gay stuff closer to the end bc im weak and marty x alex is wherever i go, just a lighthearted fic about marty wanting to win a race
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 16:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13527897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alakay/pseuds/alakay
Summary: The annual race between the zebras on the reserve every year is a pretty big deal--the speed of which a zebra can run is a huge mark of respect amongst the herd. Marty realises this might be his chance to finally stand out.





	May The Best Zebra Win

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I've been thinking about for a while that I finally had the energy to write! This is set in Africa... obv. I got the idea from the Madagascar 2 video game, where Marty earns respect amongst the zebras by beating them at a race, and Alex is very happy about it. Hope you enjoy!

When the zebras started to talk about the annual race that took place on the reserve every year, Marty thought it was just for fun—some kind of marathon type deal. Not very competitive; just some fun to spice things up in the herd. However, as time went on, and as he began to realise how hard the other zebras were practicing for the race, he soon realised it was not just for fun. In fact, it seemed to be a pretty big deal, for some reason. He had never really had the herd down for being competitive, but apparently, when it came down to running, the speed of which you could go was a huge mark of respect amongst the zebras. Forever eager to stand out amongst the stripey bunch, Marty took it upon himself to practice extra hard for the race—he would wake up early and go for jogs around the watering hole, and would make his friends count how long it took him to run around it. He would run on two legs as well as four, just to strengthen them as much as he could. 

Alex was happy to be Marty’s coach and cheerleader of sorts—he could tell what winning this race would mean to him, and, striving to be the best friend that he could be, Alex wanted Marty to have as much support as he could get. After all, Marty had been the lion’s main source of support and motivation for years. It was only fair that Alex do the same for him.

After weeks upon weeks of practicing, timing, working out and eating healthy, the day of the race had finally arrived. 

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked Marty after the zebra had completed his final practice run. 

“I’m feelin’ like I can’t wait to win and to have this race finally over and done with!” Marty said as he caught his breath after his run. He stood on two legs and stretched his arms in front of him. Alex grinned up at him.

“Well, at least you’ve got the right attitude about winning!” He gently punched the zebra’s arm with his balled up fist. “I know you can do it!”

Marty smiled down at Alex and loosely placed his arm around the lion’s shoulders. “As long as you’re there to cheer me on.”

Alex scoffed lightheartedly and smiled back at him. “Well, obviously. There’s no way you could do this without my wonderful cheerleading skills.”

Marty rolled his eyes before grinning once again at the lion. They began to walk to the watering hole together, where the race was taking place; three laps around the watering hole and whoever came first would be the winner. Alex had said to Marty that the race would be as easy as a walk in the park. Though he was good at hiding it, the zebra wasn’t so sure. He had had playful races with the other members of the herd before, and they were fast. Marty just hoped that he was fast enough. He wanted to stand out amongst the crowd—he didn’t want to blend in.

Animals were gathering around the watering hole for the long awaited race, and Marty and Alex managed to find Melman and Gloria amongst the crowd.

“Nervous, Marty?” Gloria asked with a grin, nudging the zebra in the side lightly with her elbow.

“Pfft. I could outrun these guys in my sleep, Glo!” Marty replied enthusiastically. “Ain’t got nothin’ to be worried about.”

“That’s my boy.” Gloria smiled, winking at the zebra.

“Just don’t work yourself too hard. I don’t want to be stitching you up after all this is done!” Melman added. He attempted to say it jokingly, but it was obvious that the giraffe was being quite serious. Marty couldn’t help but laugh.

“Man, don’t even worry about it. It’s in my blood!” The zebra stated confidently, hoping that he was hiding his anxiety about the race well. “I got this in the bag.”

“Absolutely!” Alex said with a bright smile, looking at Marty. “You’re gonna wipe the floor with those guys!”

The reassuring words from his friends definitely helped clear up some of the anxiety he was having about the race—only for the anxiety to quickly start to rise in his chest again as he heard the booming voice of Zuba announcing the race.

“Ladies and gentlemen, animals of all ages!” Alex’s dad began, speaking through a makeshift megaphone made out of a large, thick leaf, “Take your places! The race is about to begin!”

Marty inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly. “Here goes nothin’.” He said to his friends with a smile. 

“You got this, sweetheart.” Gloria said, placing a hand on Marty’s shoulder.

“Show them what you’re made of!” Melman grinned.

Marty smiled at the two and then looked at Alex, who was beaming proudly at the zebra. “Just know that whatever the outcome, you shine brighter than any of those guys.” Alex told him before unexpectedly pulling Marty into a hug. He gave him a tight squeeze before letting go, placing his paws on Marty’s shoulders and looking him in the eyes with a smile. “I’ll be waiting for you at the finishing line!”

Marty couldn’t help but feel touched at what the lion had said, and his smile stretched from one side of his face to the other. “I’ll be the one with the black and white stripes.” He told Alex, making the lion laugh lightly. Marty then quickly made his way to where all the other zebras were stood, waiting for the race to begin.

Alex shared worried glances with Melman and Gloria as Marty left them to join the herd. 

“God, I hope he wins.” Alex murmured to himself, crossing his arms over his chest, his brow furrowing. He told Melman and Gloria that he was going to move closer to the finishing line so he could cheer Marty on right from the front, and they followed close behind him.

Marty looked right at Alex, who was smiling right at him. He gave him two thumbs up and mouthed the words ‘good luck’ to him, and Marty smiled right back and winked at him. 

Zuba and Florrie made their way to the finishing line. Zuba patted Alex’s back lightly with a grin.

“Do you think he’ll win?” The older lion asked.

“I hope so. Otherwise, that’ll be really bad for my coaching career.” Alex replied with a grin, attempting to hide his own nervousness about the race. Zuba let out a laugh.

Florrie stood in front of the zebras, holding two small flags made from sticks and leaves.

“Okay, everyone!” She exclaimed. “Take your positions!”

The zebras all got themselves into their starting positions. Marty shared a glance with the zebra next to him, and gave him a small grin.

“May the best zebra win.” Marty said, holding his hoof in front of him for the other zebra to shake.

The zebra next to him frowned, looked him up and down, and then looked in front of him. “That’s what I’m planning on.” 

Marty blinked in surprise at the rudeness of the zebra next to him and then frowned, but he brushed it off, directing his thoughts to the path ahead. 

“On your marks… get set…” Florrie moved to the side out of the way of the herd, and then yelled as she waved the flags in front of her, “go!”

The zebras set off sprinting, leaving a cloud of dust behind them as they did so. The crowd of animals that had came to see the race erupted into excited whooping and shouting. Alex stood with his parents near the finishing line, and he squinted his eyes to try and see Marty within the striped blur of the herd, who were well on their way around the watering hole. It was almost impossible to make him out until the herd shot past them, finishing their first lap. Marty wasn’t too far from the front, and Alex managed to make out the bite mark on his butt. He immediately smiled as he realised how close Marty was to the front of the herd, and threw his arms up in the air excitedly, jumping up and down.

“Go Marty!” Alex shouted, the smile still stretched from one side of his face to the other. Zuba and Florrie joined in with the cheering of their son’s best friend; Florrie was extremely enthusiastic and getting a tad too caught up in all of the hype, her enthusiasm almost knocking over the lion behind her; Zuba’s deep and booming voice seemed to stand out amongst the crowd as he cheered for his favourite zebra of the bunch. Alex couldn’t be happier at how much they were rooting for Marty.

Exhaustion from the endless practicing and early morning jogs was beginning to catch up to Marty, but he refused to give up. Just as he was almost to the very front of the herd, he felt a strong push come from beside him—it was the zebra who was unnecessarily rude to him when he wished him good luck before, and Marty’s brow furrowed.

“What is your deal?!” He yelled amongst the sound of galloping hooves. The zebra grinned at him.

“Every zebra for himself.” He stated simply as he began to overtake Marty in the race.

His mindset quickly shifting from tiredness to one of determination, Marty immediately started moving his legs as fast as they would go, until it was just him and the other zebra at the front of the herd. They were quickly nearing the end of their second lap, and Marty caught sight of Alex’s smiling face at the end of the finishing line, cheering him on. His chest tightened slightly with anxiety as he imagined the disappointment on Alex’s face if he lost, after all of the hard work he had put in to keep Marty motivated for the last few weeks—the thought of that alone was enough to keep Marty going until the end of the third lap.

Eyes on the path straight ahead of him, Marty kept at a steady pace so as not to overwork himself until the very last quarter of the third lap. The other zebra was running at the same pace as he was, staying alongside him as the rest of the herd seemed to be straying further and further away from them. 

“You should just give up now!” The zebra said through heavy panting, clearly beginning to grow tired with the speed at which he was running. “There ain’t no way you can outrun me!”

Marty didn’t waste his time or energy by coming up with something witty to say to him. He simply kept his eyes on the path ahead of him, and he soon realised that they were approaching the finishing line. He passed Melman and Gloria, who were cheering for him as loudly as they could. Marty then saw Alex at the finishing line, who had a somewhat concerned expression across his face as the lion saw the competition Marty was competing against, but was still cheering on his best friend as much as he could, along with Zuba and Florrie. 

Marty took in a deep breath and began to push himself to his limits, sprinting as fast as he possibly could towards the finishing line. Alex was yelling as loud as he could, and he jumped up and down with excitement as Marty ran closer and closer towards him. Marty shot a glance beside him and realised that the zebra who was running alongside him was now a few feet behind him. 

With a smile on his face and his head held high, Marty passed the finishing line with seconds to spare. The crowd of animals cheered and applauded him, and Marty felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment wash over him. He stood up on his two legs with a wide smile and turned around to face the crowd, who were all cheering for him with smiles of their own. There was only one face that stood out to him in the crowd, though—Alex. The lion quickly ran up to the zebra and threw himself at him. Marty let out a loud laugh as he wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist and lifted him up into a hug, spinning him around while he did so. Alex had his arms around Marty’s neck and he hugged him tightly before pulling away, still being held up by Marty so that he was in the air.

“You did it!” Alex exclaimed cheerfully with a touch of a giggle. Marty was looking up at the lion he was holding in his arms with a warm smile, and felt a flush rising across his cheeks. Alex looked back down at Marty, the smile never leaving his face. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a moment or two, before slowly leaning in to each other—and then, suddenly, the rest of the crowd came over and started to congratulate Marty, and the zebra quickly set the lion back down on the ground with a sheepish grin on his face. Alex took a second to compose himself, and he wondered if he and Marty were just having the same thought—ultimately, he brushed it off and shoved it to the back of his mind, and he stood next to his best friend proudly, his paws resting on his hips. 

“Marty, you were amazing!” Florrie told him, grabbing his face in her paws and giving him a hug. Marty smiled at her.

“Was there ever any doubt?” He asked, hugging her back. He felt a large, strong paw patting him on the back, and he looked up to see Zuba smiling down at him. 

“You did good, son!” He stated. Marty felt an even stronger sense of accomplishment as he was complemented by, not only the leader of the reserve, but by his best friend’s father, who could be quite the tough cookie to crack at times.

“Uh, can we not forget to congratulate me, too? He wouldn’t have been able to get through the first lap without me as his personal coach and cheerleader!” Alex said with a grin as he gently elbowed Marty in the side. The zebra grinned back at him with a raised eyebrow and rolled his eyes. 

“Let me have my one moment of glory, Ally-Al!” Marty said with a laugh, resting his arm around Alex’s shoulders. Alex smiled and found himself hugging into Marty, resting his head on his chest in a short, but tight embrace, and then pulling away from him.

“I guess I can do that. Only this once, though.” The lion said, pointing a finger at the zebra. Marty rolled his eyes once more, but the smile still stayed on his face.

Melman and Gloria also congratulated Marty on his win; Gloria lifted him up in a tight squeeze of a hug, and Melman gave him a smile and a pat on the arm with one of his large hooves. The zebra’s eyes then landed on the herd, who all seemed to be taking it quite lightheartedly and a few even came up to congratulate Marty, but Marty couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt for the one zebra who was stood away from the crowd, looking quite ashamed of himself. Marty told Alex that he would be right back, and Alex raised an eyebrow as he watched Marty walk towards the zebra who was standing alone near the watering hole.

“Hey.” Marty greeted the zebra simply. He soon realised it was the same zebra he was at the front of the herd with, and he frowned, but forever being the bigger person—or zebra—about things, Marty held out his hoof to the disappointed zebra. “No hard feelings, right, pal?”

The zebra, who was stood on all fours compared to Marty who was standing on two legs, looked up at the winner, and his frown turned into a small smile. “I guess the best zebra really did win.” He met Marty’s hoof with his own in a fist-bump. Marty grinned at him.

“Don’t be stayin’ here all by yourself. C’mon, join the party!” He told the other zebra with a smile, gesturing towards the crowd of animals behind him.

The two walked back to the crowd of animals together, and Alex walked towards Marty with a smile. 

“What was that about?” He asked with raised eyebrows, watching as the zebra that had been Marty’s main competition towards the end of the race. 

“He just wanted to win.” Marty stated, looking down at Alex. “He, y’know, could’ve been nicer about it, but… I can understand wantin’ to stand out from the pack.” 

Alex couldn’t help but smile up at his best friend, a warm, somewhat fuzzy feeling rising in his chest. “Well, for what it’s worth—you stand out to me everyday.”

Marty’s smile grew a little wider as he heard that, and then he let out a chuckle. “I’m sure the bite mark on my butt is a bit of a giveaway, huh?”

Alex playfully pushed him and rolled his eyes with a grin. “Sure it is, you douche. But, I mean, seriously… you really are something else, Marty.” He smiled. “One in a million. You don’t need to win some race to stand out to me.”

Marty looked at Alex, his smile never leaving his face. Without thinking, he slipped his hoof into Alex’s paw, almost a little too naturally. “Come on, you sap. Let’s get the good times rollin’, huh?” He nodded towards the crowd of animals.

Alex shot a glance down at Marty’s hoof in his paw, and he immediately felt his cheeks blushing slightly. He looked back up at Marty and grinned.

“Sure. I’ll race you.”


End file.
